1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the treatment of alkylate product from a process wherein normal olefins are reacted with isoalkanes in the presence of sulfuric acid to produce alkylate product. More particularly the invention relates to a process wherein the effluent from the alkylation reactor is passed through a deentrainment device to remove sulfuric acid by coalescence and subsequently treated to remove sulfonates and sulfonic esters.
2. Related Information
In the petroleum refining industry, acid catalyzed alkylation of aliphatic hydrocarbons with olefinic hydrocarbons is a well known process. Alkylation is the reaction of a paraffin, usually isoparaffins, with an olefin in the presence of a strong acid which produces paraffins, e.g., of higher octane number than the starting materials and which boil in range of gasolines. In petroleum refining the reaction is generally the reaction of a C2 to C5 olefin with isobutane.
In refining alkylations, hydrofluoric or sulfuric acid catalysts are most widely used under low temperature conditions. Low temperature or cold acid processes are favored because side reactions are minimized. In the traditional process the reaction is carried out in a reactor where the hydrocarbon reactants are dispersed into a continuous acid phase.
Although this process has not been environmentally friendly and is hazardous to operate, no other process has been as efficient and it continues to be the major method of alkylation for octane enhancement throughout the world. In view of the fact that the cold acid process will continue to be the process of choice, various proposals have been made to improve and enhance the reaction and to some extent moderate the undesirable effects.
In the past the alkylate product has been washed with water or treated with caustic to remove or neutralize any carry over sulfuric acid. Both methods of treatment have drawbacks. When a water wash is used there is some carry over of water to the distillation columns used to separate the alkylate from unreacted materials. This water dilutes any acid left or dissolves any sulfonates or sulfonic esters which cause corrosion problems. The caustic tends to produce salts which can foul downstream heat exchangers, especially the reboiler in the recovery columns. Various solutions have been proposed for this problem. U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,095 disclosed the use of particulate polar contact material and fluorinated sulfuric acid for the alkylation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,420,093 and 5,444,175 sought to combine the particulate contact material and the catalyst by impregnating a mineral or organic support particulate with sulfuric acid.
Various static systems have been proposed for contacting liquid/liquid reactants, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,496,996; 3,839,487; 2,091,917; and 2,472,578. However, the most widely used method of mixing catalyst and reactants is the use of various arrangements of blades, paddles, impellers and the like that vigorously agitate and blend the components together, for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,759,318; 4,075,258 and 5,785,933.
It is an advantage of the present invention that it overcomes the water/sulfuric acid carryover by a more effective process of acid/water separation and recovery.